By Andrew Benson, F1 Correspondent.
Max Verstappen stunned his own Red Bull team and rivals McLaren by grabbing pole position from Lando Norris for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Lagging behind the McLarens throughout the weekend, the world champion pipped Norris by 0.012 seconds with his final lap of the session.
The second McLaren of Oscar Piastri, fastest on the first laps of the session by 0.226secs from Verstappen, was third, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Mercedes’ George Russell took fifth, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was eighth.
When Piastri fell short of beating Verstappen with the final lap of the session, confirming the Dutchman’s pole, the awe in the Red Bull garage was clear.
“That is insane,” his race engineer Giampiero Lambiase said to Verstappen over the radio.
Even Norris accepted that his rival had excelled himself, saying: “Max did an amazing lap.”
Norris added: “I’m happy because I feel like I got everything out of the car today. My lap was very good. We were on the limit of what we had but we just didn’t have enough today.”
Piastri, though, felt he could have done better.
“The last lap just didn’t quite come together as I wanted,” the Australian said. “Incredibly tight margins and still all to play for tomorrow. Just a little bit left on the table.”
More grass fire concerns at Suzuka
Verstappen’s new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda could manage only 15th place. The Japanese, drafted in for this race after Red Bull demoted Liam Lawson just two races into the season, was 0.498secs down on Verstappen in the second session, after which he was knocked out.
He told the team over the radio that he had done a “pretty messy” lap.
It was a disappointment for Tsunoda, who had been close behind Verstappen in final practice earlier on Saturday.
Grass fires again caused a problem – the second part of qualifying was stopped for six minutes when the fifth fire of the weekend broke out on the exit of the fast 130R corner.
Officials had doused the grass with water before qualifying in an attempt to prevent any further fires breaking out after four stoppages throughout practice on Friday and Saturday.
They had considered a pre-emptive burning of the grass but decided there was not enough time before qualifying and too big a risk that advertising hoardings could catch fire if it was not properly controlled or monitored.
Rain is forecast overnight and it remain to be seen how Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, will address the issue before the race.
Verstappen’s ‘very special’ lap
His satisfaction at pole was enhanced by the fact that it came at Suzuka, a circuit considered one of the greatest challenges for a racing driver there is.
“We tried the best we could to get the best possible balance with the car,” he said. “It wasn’t easy. Every session we kept making little improvements and then the last lap was just flat out.
“Around here, being on the limit, or maybe just a little bit over the limit in places, is incredibly rewarding
“It’s insane, an F1 car around her is unbelievable and with the new Tarmac it gives you more grip and you have to commit even harder.
“I was fully committed on the final lap. At points, not sure if I was going to keep it (on the track). If you look at how our season started, even this weekend, it is very unexpected and that makes it a very special one.”